Premier Steven Marshall addressed the South Australian public this morning. He announced today that payroll tax will be removed for all apprentices and trainees over the next two years.
He said the decision was made to encourage employers to take on new apprentices and trainees.
“We want to make it more attractive to take on apprentices and trainees,” Marshall said.
“We’re making sure we can get the skills in South Australia for the future.”
“We are putting this payroll tax concession in place for two years; who knows what will happen down the track, there may be other areas that will will need to stimulate.”
Marshall said there has been a large number of new apprentices and trainees taken on and the new announcement will progress this further.
“We’ve created 52,000 commencements in SA since coming to government,” Marshall said.
“We now have more than 3,000 employers who have taken on a new apprentice and trainee for the first time in South Australia.”
He said employers will be able to take on new apprentices and trainees without the excessive costs. He continued that the state government taking payroll tax off of apprentices and trainees will deliver $18.2 million of savings in businesses and allows them to invest in more employees and skills.
The 2-year payroll tax exemption is for wages paid to eligible trainees and apprentices who commence a new relevant training contract, entered into from July 1 2022 up to June 30, 2024.
The new announcement follows the state government’s recent announcement of a new $20 million strategy to advance and modernise career education and guidance in schools. The new strategy is in place for public schools to help students secure jobs of the future.
The Career Education Strategy will help students from year 7 discover their passion in areas where real career opportunities exist.
It features a new digital career diagnostic tool for year 9 students that allows them to assess their strengths, aspirations, learning styles and preferences to help them realise their potential.
A professional career service will be established for year 10 students, which will include a network of career advisory professionals who will provide guidance and advice to link a student’s passions and strengths with their senior secondary learning program and post-school pathway to career success.
A career skills exploration game will be introduced for year 7 and year 8 students, giving them the opportunity to identify their interests and passions and how these link to a future career in a fun and interactive way.
The new Career Education Strategy will complement the industry-endorsed Flexible Industry Pathways (FIPs) and the recently launched Students Pathways website.
Under the plan, the Student Pathways website will be expanded to support stronger connections between schools and employers that broaden a student’s understanding of the world of work in different industries and occupations.
This will include a dedicated section on the website to promote careers in a wide range of industries and occupations through innovative experiences such as virtual work tours, webinars and online information sessions.
The Student Pathways website can be found at https://studentpathways.sa.edu.au/
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